Project description

In the summer of 2024, as part of the module "Society, Economy, Entrepreneurship," I conceived and programmed the first version of my own portfolio website at tariwiencke.de. An important note up front: this article describes version 1 of this website — built with Jekyll and hosted at Dogado. The site you're reading this article on right now is a complete rebuild with Next.js and MDX and differs significantly from this first version both technically and in design. So this article is a look back at the beginning.

Concept: why a website of your own?

The starting point was the question of how I could enable a digital exchange with the public about topics like entrepreneurship, information and communication systems, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time I wanted to document my previous projects, to build my own brand as a developer.

The website of the software studio Sandstorm Media GmbH served as inspiration. I clarified the requirements for the website via user stories — among others:

• As a potential client, I want an overview of completed projects, to assess Tari's abilities.
• As someone interested in sustainable, social, and creative topics, I want to read articles on these topics.
• As a visitor, I want to find a short introduction to the person, an imprint, and further channels like Instagram and GitHub.
• As an interested reader, I want to subscribe to a newsletter, so as not to miss new articles.

Technical implementation: domain, hosting, and Jekyll

The question of domain and hosting was already settled for me: I already had an email mailbox at Dogado and with it the domain tariwiencke.de. For 4.99 € a month, three domains, storage for the website, and enough mailboxes were included — a revised, clear interface with an expert view for more configuration options included.

For the software, I deliberately decided against website-builder systems like WordPress or Wix. These are user-friendly, but for a simple, static website unnecessarily large, comparatively slow, not fully customizable in design — and cost money continuously. I wanted to work with basic web technologies (HTML, CSS), without putting much effort into maintaining new content. Jekyll was the ideal compromise for me: with Markdown files and the Jekyll engine, a static website is generated from them — no server, no database, no running costs other than hosting.

Design: minimalist with recognition value

The design was meant to be minimalist, but create recognition value — and also continue consistently outside the website, for instance in Word and PowerPoint documents. I decided on the typefaces M PLUS Code Latin and Bebas Neue, combined with the colors slightly faded black and orange. I carried this design through consistently: my coursework, too — including the template of the module in which this concept emerged — and a dedicated PowerPoint template used the same color and font scheme.

Content: introduction, projects, articles

In terms of content, the website was meant to consist of three parts: a personal introduction on the homepage, a project section showing which technologies I master, and an article section for topics that interest me — fed, among other things, by the content of my "Free Reading" modules.

On the homepage there was a photo of me and a short introduction as a full-stack developer. Under "TAKE A LOOK!" you could find articles and projects, under "CONTACT" my email address, and under "SOCIAL MEDIA" my accounts on Instagram, LinkedIn, and GitHub. At launch, two English articles from the Free Reading modules were online; the project page was still largely empty at that point — planned for it were, among others, my first project with the Kulturamt as well as events with the Novum Kollektiv.

Reflection

The greatest value for me lay not in the module's theory, but in the programming of the website itself: I was able to deepen my knowledge of web development and finally build my own brand as a programmer. Until then I'd lacked a medium to revisit and reflect on past projects — with the website I'd found this medium.

What came up short, by contrast, was the source-based engagement with the role of entrepreneurship in society — I'd have liked, for example, to contrast the economic school (Schumpeter) with the sociological one. Also missing was the exchange within a team, since I had no module team of my own at that point. Instead, though, I'd already been discussing these questions for a while with various players in Bremerhaven's culture scene — and through that found my own role as an entrepreneur in society.

What I learned

A static website with Jekyll is a good entry point with no running costs. Without a server, database, or website-builder subscription, a performant, fully design-customizable website could be built quickly with Markdown and a simple templating engine.

Consistent design across all channels pays off. The decision to define typefaces and colors not only for the website but also for documents and presentations gave my external presentation a common thread early on.

A website of your own is the missing medium for processing projects. Only with the website did I have a place to document past and ongoing projects — a gap I'd long been unable to close before.

Conclusion

With tariwiencke.de v1, the foundation was laid: my own domain, a performant Jekyll site in a Sandstorm-Media-inspired design of M PLUS Code Latin, Bebas Neue, black, and orange — and two first published articles. The project page was still a construction site at that point, but the direction was clear: projects like the Novum Kollektiv, ZAPPZARAPP, DEEP QUEST, and later Kulturdepot were meant to find their place here.

From this first, lean Jekyll version has since become a complete rebuild with Next.js and MDX — with exactly the goal that was formulated back then: a place where I document and reflect on my projects. This article itself is a part of that.